Conventional mops include an elongate shaft having a mop element at one end of the shaft and an operator gripping portion at the other end of the shaft. In some commercially available mops, the mop element may be twisted around the shaft to thereby wring from the mop element the liquid which has been absorbed during use of the mop. Such mops are known in the art as "twist mops."
One problem associated with prior art twist mops is that a considerable amount of strength is required to hold the mop parts in a wringing position and to apply the force necessary to expel the absorbed liquid from the mop element. This is particularly true when the mop element must be twisted through a large overall angle of rotation. The prior art has addressed this problem by utilizing a mop element having relatively short liquid-absorbing ropes in an effort to reduce the overall angle of rotation. However, the use of such relatively short strands results in the mop element having a relatively small surface area. This is undesirable, inasmuch as the area of contact between the mop element and the surface to be mopped is thereby reduced.
It is a general object of the invention to provide a mop that overcomes the shortfalls inherent in prior art mops. Another object of the invention is to provide a twist mop having an operating member that may be advanced for wringing in small angular increments.